Giannis Giokas, 31, one of the youngest members of parliament representing the Communist Party:

We in the Communist Party of Greece believe that people are not responsible for this deficit and debt. Greece is caught in a struggle between two great powers and rival economic systems – the spending model of the U.S. and the thrift-based system of Germany. Our country is at the crossroads of the Middle East, the Balkans, and North Africa. It is where the contradictions between multinational companies and big capitalist countries come through. In the past two years, billions have been given from state budgets to support banks and other big monopolies through direct support or tax breaks. The €22 billion given by the previous government to banks could have gone to education, salaries, and pensions. We don’t agree with the idea that the banks are too big to fail, especially when they are still making millions in profits.

The idea that somehow it’ll be in the favor of the people if we return to growth and development is another illusion. Between 2002 and 2008, Greece had a high development rate that was above the eurozone average. But that period coincided with the greatest attack on social, educational, and labor rights.

It’s time to discuss another way of development that’ll serve people’s needs and not the capitalist class. We call it a people’s economy, where the means of production will be under social and not private ownership – and the economy will be centrally planned because crisis is inevitable in an economy characterized by anarchy.

The Communist Party is fighting for the disengagement of our country from the E.U. and organizations like N.A.T.O. because we don’t think that its engagement is in the favor of the Greek people. Any recovery under present conditions will be weak and will lead to a more acute crisis in future. Wars, famines, and other crises will continue and become even more pronounced.

If this crisis has shown anything, it is the historical limits of this system as described by Marx and Lenin. The big question is: What will replace it? Will it be a more adjusted form of capitalism?

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